It came from Egypt
by pta917
Summary: Sequel to Black Water. After their encounter with the Daleks in New York, the Doctor and Martha try to get some rest, just to be visited by a strange and disturbing being, in need of their services.
1. Chapter 1

The Doctor was never one to sleep that much, even for a Time Lord, specially after facing the Daleks and letting the last one escape, he walked around the console of his Tardis on his right hand a cup of coffee and his left on the console. The looked at every button, trying to see if something could explain the turbulence he was sensing, then he heard something for a moment he paused and looked around, seeing nothing he returned to the console.

Again he heard the noise, that's when he recognized the sound it was a knock, slowly he looked back at the entrance and walked up to it. For a second he thought if he should open it, still not seeing any problem in it, he opened the door. The cup fell, the coffee spilled all over his shoes, his eyes were fixated on the figure in front of him he couldn't believe what he saw.

''What's wrong Doctor!? It's me Sarah Jane Smith.'' the young woman replied

Indeed it was, Sarah Jane Smith yet she was young. That wasn't even the biggest shock, it was how was she here in the middle of the Time Vortex, he was frozen in place no word was said from him till the young woman walked in.

''But...how?'' he muttered

She approached him, with a happy smile, she passed her hand by his face gently. Caught by surprise he took a step back almost stepping outside of the Tardis, then he closed them and stumbled to the console, yet she went after him.

''What's wrong Doctor didn't you miss me? I came so far to see you.'' she said in a soft tone

''Who are you!? This isn't possible.'' he growled back

''I come to visit and that's how you treat me?'' she replied, seemingly offended

''This must be the cause of the turbulence.'' he said to himself, ignoring the woman

Once more she placed herself between the Doctor and the panel, he stopped and tried to see how to go around her.

''I see. Maybe I'll get a better reaction this way.'' with these words her body began to glow

The Doctor placed his right arm in front of his face to shield himself from the light, after a while it stopped, lowering his arms he saw Rose now. His former companion was again in the Tardis.

''Is this better? Maybe now we can speak.'' she said

''What do you mean speak?'' he asked, showing signs of suspicion

''About a favor, you could do for me.'' ''Rose'' said with a joyful smile

''I won't.'' he replied

''Really!? You won't do a favor, for dear old me?'' she asked once more, but this time he sensed a bit more of malice

He didn't reply, but his face showed that he wouldn't, she smiled once more and walked back to the door then faced the Doctor, who was near the console, again she began to glow. He covered his eyes not witnessing the transformation from woman to man.

''There this is better. Now let's get down to business.'' the man announced, with a smooth voice

This new masculine form, was as tall as the Doctor, his hair was dark brow almost black medium sized and curly, his eyes were a deep light green, the face overall seemed like that of a Pharaoh, he was slightly tanned with a more athletic body then the Doctor, a small beard and he wore a black business suit.

''Who are you?'' the Time Lord asked

''I am a representative of some people interested on hiring your services.'' he replied in a slow voice

''I can't be hired. I'll help anyone who needs it, if I can, but I think you want something more given your entrance.'' the Doctor replied in a similar tone

''What can I say, I like to know the people I work with, my methods aren't the most regular...in the end it doesn't matter.'' the man said in a disturbing tone, specially at the end

As they faced each other down, Martha Jones walked in still wearing a nightgown, she looked at the two men as the three stood in silence.

''Am I in the middle of something?'' she asked still half a sleep

The Doctor was about to reply, when the stranger started talking in a friendly manner.

''Don't worry, I was just passing by and decided to come to your good friend the Doctor and see if he could help me.'' he said with a big grin

''I'm Martha Jones'' she said still confused, that was till he grabbed her by the hand and kissed it

''A pleasure to meet you miss Jones, I've heard many things.'' he continued looking deep into her eyes, to the point she felt overwhelmed

''And what can we call you?'' the Doctor asked, interrupting the situation, to witch the stranger grinned at

''Always so curious aren't you? If I know yours' I can tell you mine. You can call me Nyarlathotep .'' he replied in the same smooth and disturbing voice

''Nyar...'' Martha repeated confused

''Or just call me Jack, it's simpler.''

The Doctor didn't react, as his hearts were bound by fear, the intruder locked eyes with him and showed a small smiled.

''Why are you here?'' the Time Lord asked trying to put himself between his companion and the being

''Like I said I need your help.'' he replied innocently

''You don't need it.'' the Doctor spat back

''Why Doctor? Maybe we should listen to what he has to say, you can't just reject him.'' she said stunned by the coldness of the Time Lord

''Yes Doctor, why? And you're right Martha he can't just kick me out of here.'' Nyarlathotep replied in a ironic tone, but never taking his eyes off of the Time Lord

The Doctor didn't talk, thinking over the situation and how bad it could be, then the Tardis shock again just to remember him of how things were serious. That was it he walked away from them and leaned over the rails, showing that he had been defeated.

''How can we help?'' he asked

''Glad to see you are open to the helping me. Doctor do you remember the Seventh Voyage and Samantha, how you stopped her and her ritual?'' he asked not really wanting a answer as he continued

''Yeah...some people didn't like it. So I'm here, by their orders, to give you a chance for existence.'' he finished

''I'll do what you want. But Martha will stay here.'' the Doctor replied trying to protect her

''I'm afraid that can't happen. We don't want to handicap you.''

''I've helped you this far Doctor. How can this be worse than Daleks?'' Martha asked, to which Jack let out a small laugh

''Daleks...she's funny.'' he said between laughs

''Enough of this. What do you want me to do?'' the Doctor growled at them

''So October of 2015, a cube will be found that contains sensitive information for the human mind. Now I could just go get it, but it was seen as a good opportunity for you to make up for stopping Samantha's ritual.'' the messenger uttered delivering his message

The Doctor, nodded slightly and walked up to the console where he started pushing buttons and levers.

''Location?'' he asked

''Egypt.''


	2. Chapter 2

A strange sound erupted on the sandy air, as the Tardis materialized in a alley, thanks to the shadows cast by the walls they managed to cover it. Martha was the first to walk out followed by Jack and finally the Doctor who closed the door to the machine.

''So, what is our story?'' Martha asked the Doctor with a small smile

''We'll just say we are here to supervise the excavation. We just need some information on the people running it.'' the Doctor replied, looking at Jack

''Right, it's being organised by a professor called Mark Freeman. Just go to someone on the camp, show them your Psychic paper and that will lead you to them.'' the being spat back with a uninterested tone

As they exited the alley, the place where they had landed was made clear, it was a small town made of old buildings, most of them stone based. The people who lived there wore robes, children played on the streets and men were seen on small shops, it seemed like a very peaceful place. What they didn't see was one of the kids in a blue robe watching them, the boy ran through the streets to one of the houses, passing by the wooden door he went through the stone corridors, decorated with paintings and old lamps he entered one of the bed rooms where on the bed was a old blind woman.

He stopped at the entrance waiting for her to let him in.

''You can come here child, tell me what you saw.'' she said in a sweet voice

The boy approached slowly, till he was on the left side of the bed, he didn't speak as she didn't need him to speak, placing her hand on the child's head she saw what he saw, that's when she gained the knowledge of the blue box and the people who walked out.

''It must be Him.'' she said

''Go to your parents! Tell them what that the time has arrived and to spread the word!'' she growled in a more lively and dominant tone

Mean while, the trio managed to catch a ride to the excavation on a horse cart transporting supplies.

''Can you take us to professor Mark Freeman?'' the Doctor asked the driver

''Sorry I can't. But he is on the tent nearest to the dig site over there.'' the man responded pointing at the field of tents and campers

This was the campsite of the research, some of the tents were for the workers to sleep in, others had equipment or had some artifacts found during exploration. The vehicles had the same purpose, only at a more sophisticated level.

The Doctor and his companion made their way to the tent, while Jack decided to stay behind and look around, they walked through the pick sand passed by some workers, noticing that all of them came from that small town. As they entered the tent, one of the locals walked out, inside were two people, one older man and a younger woman, the Doctor analyzing the situation concluded that the man was the professor.

''I still can't believe these people know English.'' the professor said with a laugh to the girl, as he leaned back against the table positioned in the middle of the tent

''What do you mean by that!?'' Martha asked surprising them

''...it's just the fact that they live in such a isolated area and they use it as if it was their first language.'' Mark replied, somewhat embarrassed

Martha didn't reply but by her look, the Doctor saw that she didn't really like that comment.

''But who are you people!?'' the professor asked, just now reacting to these strangers

''My name is John Smith and this is my assistant, Martha Jones. We were sent here to supervise and report your progress.'' the Doctor announced quickly

''I see...Do you have documents to prove this?'' he asked folding his arms

The Doctor smiled and from the pocket he pulled out a small wallet which he opened to the man showing the required the man asked for.

''Now that we've got this out of the way, I can say to you first that we are close to finding the entrance to the underground structure. Also let me introduce to you my own assistance, Ashley Morgan she as a Archaeology degree from the Miskatonic University.'' Mark ranted on stepping aside to give the Doctor and Martha a better look of this young woman he seemed to old in high esteem

The girl was as tall as Martha, her skin was almost porcelain white, her hair blonde eyes light blue, she seemed to be somewhat shy and simply greeted them without anything else to say.

''Still as good as she is in her field, she still underestimates herself. As you can see here on this table, this is the first stone we found when the digging started and Ashley here as been the one working on it.'' he continued signaling to the small stone tablet on the table

''That's so interesting, what did you find so far!?'' Martha asked showing her growing enthusiasm

''Well, nothing of interest really, just a warning of a curse.'' she said in a quiet tone

''A curse? What curse?'' the Time Lord asked

''It talks about the guardians of the temple.'' she replied

''Just something to scare away people who think of robbing anything from inside.'' Mark spat in a mocking tone

''And still you insist on digging it up.'' a voice said from outside

Looking back the Doctor and Martha recognized him as Jack.

''Who is this!?'' the professor growled

''This is Jack, he's our superior.'' Martha replied

''So much interest on this digging?'' Ashley asked shocked

Before anyone could even think of an answer, a crowd could be heard as the same local from before walked in breathing heavily.

''Sir...we've found it!'' he said between breaths

Mark didn't even respond, both he and his assistant rushed out running after the man, through the group of workers to this so awaited discovery. It was a massive stone door, carved with several warnings it sat in a horizontal position. Tears almost fell from Marks eyes as he couldn't believe his eyes, the object of his research after all those years found.

''Ashley... call James and see if he has his machine working...'' he ordered between sobs

The girl ran pass the trio to the vehicles behind them, while they looked on.

''They found the entrance, what now?'' the Doctor asked Jack

''I don't know. This is your job Doctor not mine.'' he roared back

''Why don't we go get a closer look?'' Martha asked breaking up the tension between both men

Then they heard the professors voice, in a very commanding tone.

''Alright people, we have to get this door out of they way.'' he announced, just as he walked away back to the tent

He entered it and sitting next to a desk he grabbed a tissue to clean his eyes, the Doctor was the only one to walk in. He looked at the tablet in the table and then took a seat next to Mark.

''You must be very proud of yourself?'' he asked

''Yes. All my life I searched for something that would establish my legacy on this Earth and now I've found it.'' he said

''Still how did you find this location?'' the Time Lord asked showing a hidden interest

''It fell from the sky.'' he replied with a laugh

''I found a irregularity on some satellite footage. Maybe caused by the movement of the sand but I could see what seemed to be a structure. In the end it was more of a lucky guess.'' he continued

For a moment they were quiet, the Doctor looked around and remembered the comment that Mark made when they first met, the one about the language.

''So why were you so surprised they spoke English so well?''

''Should I not be!? They live almost isolated from the world and then they show this linguistic skill.'' the man replied somewhat insulted

''And why do you think that is?''

''Their beliefs.''

''I don't see how those things are related.'' the Doctor said, trying to get more information out of the man

''These people, believe in the legend of the Black Pharaoh...'' he started before the Doctor cut him off

''That's a old legend.''

''Right, they believe he will come and bring the message of the end of the world. I believe the reason they know English, is because it's the universal language, they think they will be used by it as means to spread the word.'' he continued to a very curious Doctor

''Now if you don't mind me, I'm going to check if James is ready.'' he announced getting back up and walking out leaving the Doctor alone, right as Jack showed up

The Time Lord looked at Nyarlathotep, the tension between them was evident but for now the Doctor had only some questions. He got up walked up to the man and began to speak:

''What do you know about this?''

''The locals? Nothing, those are their believes, not my fault their minds are so maliable'' he replied naturally walking back outside

''And this curse?''

''Now that...I don't know.'' he growled back, showing signs of omitting something

Professor Freeman, had by now gone to Jame's workshop, the young student was the teams technician, he worked on the small four wheel remote-controlled machine that would be sent into the structure before anyone else, with James were both Ashley and Martha.

''So James is it ready?'' Freeman asked

''Almost professor, just needs a few finishing touches and it's done.'' the young man answered as he worked over his machine

''Will that damage any artifact?'' Ashley asked, with her usual calm and shy tone

''Of course not! This baby will go in there almost as if it's moving on air.'' he replied with a prideful grin

As all this went on, the workers managed to get some ropes and hooks around the huge door and were now on the process of pulling it out of it's resting place, Jack was near the one coordinating all the men. They pulled with all their might, push after push it moved slightly, till finally the massive block fell over, a wave of dust erupted from the ancient opening letting light go into places where it didn't go in centuries.

Finally everything was in place, James had a station set up to control his machine, Ashley placed it in front of the entrance and soon it was mobile and descending into the unknown darkness. Everyone watched the progress from a monitor, so far nothing special only dust and corridors. But at one point something seemed to go against the camera.

''What was that!?'' Martha asked

''I don't know...'' Freeman replied

''Can you get a better look at it?'' the Doctor asked

''It!? Something must have fell.'' James answered showing some signs of being nervous

Then things went from bad to worse, what seemed to be a hand appeared in front of the camera as it went offline.

''No, no, no!'' James let out panicking

''That was a hand...'' Freeman said between breaths

''Something's alive down there.'' the Doctor announced looking over to Jack

''But that's impossible!'' the professor roared back, in disbelief

''We need to go down there! I can't lose this thing!''James panicked

''You don't know you can't just go there!'' Martha said holding him back on his seat

''Everyone calm down!'' the Doctor roared dominantly to everyone, finally calming them down

''This is not the time for panic. Mark you have to close that thing down, before what ever that thing is comes out.'' he continued

''We can get a group of men and send them in with flashlights, there can't be more then one.'' Jack spat back defiantly

''It's to dangerous!'' Martha replied, backing up the Doctor

''Not really. If a group of people organized themselves, take flashlights they can keep this thing away. Whatever it is by the time it's been in there any bright lights will keep it away.'' Jack replied

''That's it! We'll follow your plan, we follow the cables to James' machine and find it.'' Freeman said

''I'll go with you professor.'' James announced.

So after a hour of planning, against the wishes of Ashley, Martha and the Doctor, Mark and James with three workers started their way into to abandoned structure. All of them were connected to the surface, by wires, and were armed with flashlights, they almost lost sense of themselves in the middle of the dark if it was not for the artificial light.

They manage to found what remained of the device, much to James' horror, it was in the middle of the connection between two corridors. He knelled down beside it, analyzing the damage.

''Can you fix it?'' his professor asked

''No! It's smashed, that thing crushed it.'' he roared in rage

Still he tried to pick up what he could, that was when a sound was heard around them, they looked around lights flashing in their faces, which caused even more confusion.

''Sir we better go back.'' one of the locals said

''You can go back if you want!'' James spat back at the man

All lights fell on him, as they saw him pick up the remains of his creation, then silence. Till a shriek fell on them as one of the workers was tackled down and dragged down one of the hallways. James didn't even think twice as he dropped the machine and started running back followed by Mark and the remaining two workers, the sound once again emerged, like that of a primate, it ran after them in bling rage and hunger. After a desperate run they jumped back into the surface world, but so did it, the thing jumped on to the back of one of the men and started beating away that was till a shot was heard and it fell to the side dead.

Looking around they saw, it was Mark with a small revolver who had taken the beast down. Now a crowd formed around them looking at the attacked man, but above that the abomination.

''I told you this was a bad idea.'' the Doctor growled to Mark

''Doctor look at it, it seems familiar in sense.'' Martha noted

''That is true, I think we should analyse it.'' Ashley said appearing behind them

The Time Lord looked at them both, but then straight at Martha.

''Alright. Martha how are you on anatomy?'' he asked

''Fine, I think.'' she replied, not really understanding the question

''Great. So Ashley you go talk to Professor Freeman, and see if he has a closed space to spare. Martha you prepare yourself to do an autopsy on that thing.'' he said


	3. Chapter 3

An hour after the death of the beast, the Doctor, Martha and Ashley, were able to isolate a tent for the autopsy. They didn't move much of what was inside, they placed a table on the center, another one to the left of it with several tools they could gather for the work, some chemicals and a microscope, the ground was covered by a plastic sheet. The thing was placed on the table with the help of two workers, Martha looked down at it, still uneasy of what she was about to do, before her eyes was a pale skin being, the body was covered in white hair, the face was slightly like that of a primate with red eyes.

''Doctor I don't know if I can do this.'' she said looking at the body of the creature

''There is no rush. Let's just begin with taking a blood sample.'' he said in a calm, soft tone

She grabbed a syringe and placed it on the left arm, the blood came out and then she started preparing it to be observed over the microscope. After preparation she looked over at the sample and she was shocked by what she saw in the blood.

''What's wrong!?'' Ashley asked, worried

''Doctor look at this!'' she said stepping away from the device

The Time Lord approached and observed it, for a while he was there then stepped back and turned to face the both women.

''The cells, they don't match the time of death.'' he mumbled to himself

''It's been dead for about an hour, but these show that it's been dead for a shorter period of time.'' his companion added

''How is that possible?'' Ashley asked

''Some alteration to the metabolism...to make it age slower...'' he stopped as he seemed lost in his thoughts

''Why would someone do that?'' Martha asked

''...he was there for a purpose!'' the Doctor roared out

''The guardians!?'' Martha said back

''Right! What ever is inside this structure is being guarded, so this thing must have been placed to guard it.'' he started talking

''But then wouldn't it mean, the guardians would have to be replaced from time to time, even with the slowed aging?'' Martha asked

''Yes and there is only one place to find out more about this...'' he continued before being interrupted by Ashley

''At the town?'' she asked

''Exactly! Still I have to finish looking over this creature, just to be sure of something.'' he finished

Meanwhile Mark was inside his trailer, all shudders closed and only a small lamp lit his body while he sat on his desk chair, the revolver was on top of the desk. No sound was heard, till something reached out from the shadows and dragged the gun back in, he looked in it's direction panicked lifting himself up from the chair he went up against the wall.

''Why so scared! A very fine display indeed.'' the figure said

''I didn't mean to...'' he stuttered

''Of course you did! With a shot like that, I'm sure that you meant to do exactly what you did. So how did it feel? Your first kill, the rush of battle?'' it continued

''Rush!? I just want to forget it.'' the professor roared back as he sat down

''Watch your tone with me boy! I've looked into those three visitors of yours.'' the figure roared back full of authority, like that of a general

''I'm sorry. And what did you find?'' Freeman asked, humbly

From the shadows came a tablet, showing a picture of the Doctor, Martha and Jack in the camp.

''As we suspected this man is the Doctor.'' it said pointing at the image, with what seemed to be a three fingered hand

''The woman we concluded to be his current companion.'' it continued

''What about the other man?'' Mark asked

''A anomaly. We aren't able to get a proper biological analysis, what we know is that it isn't human.'' it explained

''What now!?'' the professor asked, showing signs of panic

''You hold your end of the deal! And continued your search for the artifact, just keep in mind who gave you the tools for your discovery.'' the being once again roared in a commanding voice

As he composed himself before going outside, he heard a knock at the door, not even thinking about the other ''person'' in the trailer with him, he walked up and opened the door. Before him was the Doctor, looking outside he was amazed to see that it was almost night.

'' , how can I help you?'' he asked, trying to hide is nervous state

''I was wondering if I could talk to you about the creature?'' the Time Lord said, with a smile

''Sure just walk in.'' he replied, turning on the lights, revealing that no one was there

The Doctor sat on the chair in front of the desk, as the professor sat on his own chair and somewhat clumsily placed the revolver on a drawer.

''You found something on that autopsy?'' he asked breaking the silence

''Yes, many interesting things...but I think the most disturbing thing is that...it was human.'' the Doctor said, in a very natural tone, but he could see the reaction of the man, a man in the brink of sanity

From this the conversation continued, by now it was already night and Martha was walking around the camp with Ashley, as the desert winds bathed the area. That's when James showed up, he placed his arms around the women and with a big grin asked:

''So who want's to go get a drink?''

''A drink!? Where?'' Martha asked

''At the town.'' he replied walking up in front of them

''I don't have money with me.'' Martha replied with a silly smile

''You don't need it. They believe more in trading, if you want I can pay for your drink.'' Ashley said, in her usual quiet tone

It was set, the trio walked away heading straight to the town, this left only workers in the camp three of them started moving to the tent where the remains of the abomination rested. They looked around, to make sure they had left and then walked in.

By now they had reached the tavern, walking in they saw several stone tables and old lamps. Martha looked around at the costumers, all wearing the similar body covering robes, but in one of the corners was a distinct man in suit, it was Jack.

''I'm going to that table over there.'' she announced

''But what do you want?'' Ashley asked

''Just bring me the same thing as you.'' she replied

Jack was drinking out of a metallic cup, he didn't even seem to see Martha sitting to his right, he placed the cup on the stone surface and looked at her just for a small moment, then he took another gulp.

''What's wrong? You seem distracted.'' she asked

He stopped, placed the cup down, looked at James and Ashley still asking for the drinks and then at Martha.

''Hello there.'' he said in a monotone voice

''What are you drinking?'' she asked

''Don't know. Really doesn't matter.'' he replied in the same tone

''Why doesn't it matter?'' she continued

Again he looked at her, then at the cup, once again back at her and now with a grin.

''They all feel the same for me. You see I, unlike you humans, don't give value to physical sensations.'' he replied, showing some interest

''And what are you? What is your species?'' she asked, showing growing interest

''My species...there is nothing else like me.'' he said with a small laugh

''So your alone?'' she continued to ask, showing her interest on him

He looked at her and again a small smile came over his face, as he looked deep into her.

''I'm not alone, not as alone as you people are...'' he replied in a disturbing tone as he took another gulp

''What do you mean?'' with these words Ashley and James sat on the other side of the table

''So what are we talking about? That thing that the professor killed? Martha, have you informed your friend about what it was?'' James spat in a care free manner

Martha, on the other hand seemed frozen still looking at Jack, who by now was waiting for her to speak.

''Is something wrong?'' Ashley asked worried about her new friends state

''No...I'm fine...'' she replied still acting a bit ''slow''

''You found out what it was!? This must be interesting.'' Jack replied in a more festive tone, more human tone

''It...it was human.'' she said

''Really!? And what was a human doing there?'' the being asked

''Well, the Doctor...'' Martha started talking, before James interrupted her

''The Doctor thinks, that it is one of the guardians of what ever is down there.'' he spat

''Now let me guess. He's thinking of asking around the town to find out about it?'' Jack replied, with a grin

''I think that's what he said.'' Ashley said, in a more shy tone then usual as if overwhelmed by James presence

Then they were quiet, everyone drinking, except for Martha who was only holding her cup she still seemed frozen in place. The Doctor, having finished his conversation with Mark, had decided to start asking things around the town, about the history of the place and other things. He was walking pass a small crowd when he felt a child run against him and before he could acknowledged him the boy ran way, passing his hands through his coat he saw that his Sonic Screwdriver was gone.

He started sprinting after the boy, running through the streets he bumped into some people still he managed to follow the boy and he see the house he went into. Not giving much thought to it he entered the home and ran up the stairs, ignoring the shouts of a woman, he continued up the stairs till he arrived at a bedroom lit with only a lamp, the room of the old woman.

''Don't get upset, the child will give back what he took.'' she said as he rushed inside

Placing her hand down, the boy emerged from under the bed and gave her the device, just to go back under it.

''Here, but he also told me you were asking questions? If you want I can try to help.'' she said in a warm tone, pointing at a nearby wooden bench

''Thank you. I wanted to know more about the structure that was discovered near your town?'' the Time Lord asked taking a seat

''The labyrinth? It's been there before this town was built, you see it's a central part of our religion. We believe that it contains the link between us and the gods, so when it was built long before the sands took it back, our people created this town. We are the guardians, spoken of in that curse.'' she told with a wise full smile

''So your people have been here since the times of Ancient Egypt?'' he asked

''Yes.''

''Have we heard of the creature we found in the labyrinth?'' the Doctor asked, now in a more serious tone

''Creature!? I know nothing of it.'' she replied, showing signs of surprise

''Yes, something really disturbing, we determined that it was human.'' he continued, giving a bigger importance to it being human, trying to get a bigger reaction

''Human! That sounds terrible.'' she roared causing the woman from downstairs to rush to the room

''Sir, I'm going to have to ask you to leave!?'' the woman growled

He looked somewhat awkward, in the middle of this situation, then he looked back at the old woman and then at the Sonic device.

''Take this and go.'' she said

He went to grab it, at the moment his hand wrapped around the device he felt a shock, his hand didn't seem to want to move as he felt a invasion on his mind. Still he managed to over power it pulling away from the old woman. Just before he sat up and walked out.

''Did you see something?'' the younger woman asked

''He's not human, but he's mortal.'' she replied

''The men have retrieved the body.''

''Good, tell them it's to early. We have to wait till tomorrow night to do the right ritual.'' the elder said, before going back to sleep

The Doctor walked away from the house and was happily surprised to cross pats with Martha, James and Ashley, the former two were normal still drinking from a metal cup, but he could see that Martha was different somehow, he couldn't understand why.

''What's wrong with you, did you drink something that didn't sit right on you?'' he said looking at Martha

''She's been like this since she spoke with .'' Ashley said in a low, worried tone

The Time Lord, looked at the young woman in a silent rage he grabbed Martha by the right arm pushing her to his side and the growled:

''Go back to the camp!''

''What about you?'' the woman asked

''We have a place to sleep in town don't worry.'' the Time Lord spat back before walking away

Soon the time traveling duo entered the Tardis, the Doctor helped Martha back to her room where he placed a sheet over her so she could sleep comfortably. Then the Time Lord, stepped away going to the console of his machine, then taking a seat on the console chair he closed his eyes for a quick rest.

On Martha's side things weren't so easy. She saw herself alone, with a torch, walking through a dusty corridor after a long walk she saw a light that lead to a wide room, it was the center of what ever building this was, dust, skeletons and several images on the wall covered it. On the center was a small pillar of rock, about one meter tall and on it was a metallic cube, it shined filling the room. She slowly stepped towards it, kicking away some bones, then when she was at arms reach of it, her curiosity took the best of her as she placed her hands on the device.

Next thing she saw was the her bed, she sat up from the floor, breathing heavily and sweating she felt a unexplained sense of panic. The Doctor having heard the sound of her falling out of her bed, he went up to her room to see if she was alright, seeing her in this state he rushed to her side, knelled down and embraced her trying to reassure his companion.

''Your alright now.'' he said, almost as out of breath as Martha was

''I saw it.'' she muttered

''What!?''

''The cube, I saw it...'' Martha said, showing signs of being shaken

She wasn't the only one to have a rude awakening, Professor Freeman woke up on his bed as his eyes opened a bright light came flooding in momentarily blinding the professor. Rolling around in his bed, he heard the voice of his ''partner'':

''Get up!'' it roared

Mark started to recover his senses, then using his left arm he blocked the incoming light, the figure swatted away the arm and continued to talk:

''We have decided to end this partnership, the deal is over.'' it said finally getting the man's attention

''What!? You can't do that...it isn't fair...'' he said

''War isn't fair! And we didn't expect you to understand, your to simple to understand.'' it said just as Mark saw his revolver being pointed at him

''No! Please don't!'' the scared man pleaded

No response was heard, as the sound of a bullet filled the trailer, the human body went limp, the revolver fell down and the light went out.


	4. Chapter 4

Doctor, Martha, Ashley and James were already together at the main tent, Martha was still visibly stunned by last nights dream, the Doctor on her left side to make her feel safe, Ashley was already doing her work analyzing some artifact that they had found, James simply sat on a chair half a sleep from how much he had drank the night before. They stood there in silence till professor Freeman walked in, he looked strange slightly pale but only the Doctor and Martha seemed to notice it, the man walked up to the table in the center with a determined look and finally spoke.

"We're going in there today." he announced

"Where!? In the labyrinth?" the Doctor asked

"Yes. We know that it's safe now." the professor continued showing signs of not wanting to change his mind

"You don't know that! There has been no analysis of the structure itself, it could colapse or there might be more of those creatures down there." the Doctor replied back

"Professor listen to him." Ashley said in her usual tone

"I will not be be stopped by such arguments!" the man uncharacteristically roared loud stunning poor Ashley

Not even the Doctor expected this, not one did, they were all stunned by such outburst, Ashley slowly looked back towards her work with a small sob. That was when Jack entered the tent, a huge grin on his face, he walked around and finally placed himself on Freeman's right.

"A good decision professor." he said in a low tone, but loud enough for everyone to hear

"Why am I not surprised." the Time Lord said

"Come on Doctor! You know this is a unique opportunity, just need a small team of workers and the professor can go down there." Jack continued in a playful tone

"This discussion is over! I'm going to make the arrangements." Freeman finally announced walking out of the tent

Now only the Doctor and Nyarlathotep stood around the table, Martha was consoling Ashley and James by now had fallen asleep.

"He's going to get himself killed and I won't allow it, I'm going with him." the Doctor growled also walking out after Freeman

Jack let out a small chuckle before he turned around to meet Martha and Ashley, Martha was on the girls left side as she sat on her usual chair, he walked slowly and emerged from her right looking at Martha.

"So miss Jones aren't you going to help the Doctor?" he asked in a innocent tone

"No...I'm going to stay here..." she replied awkwardly

"Is something wrong, you seem shaken?" it said placing his left hand on her shoulder in a "friendly" manor

The touch was cold, the sharp freeze began to spread all over Martha's body, she forcefully stepped away going up against a shelf the sound startled Ashley who looked over to Martha who froze in fear looking at Jack.

"What's wrong?" the girl asked

"I didn't sleep well." Martha replied nervously never taking her eyes off of Jack, but she didn't look him in the eyes

Outside the Doctor looked on as Freeman ordered around the local workers, getting everything prepared for their descent into the ancient structure.

"Do you really think this is a good idea?" the Time Lord asked

"Of course Doctor. But maybe we should talk in my trailer" the man replied in a strange tone

The Doctor replied with a nod signaling Freeman to show him the way, the man took the lead and walked the Time Lord to their destination, when they arrived Freeman opened the door and insisted for the Doctor to enter, which he did. Taking the first steps inside the dark enclosure, the door closed behind him, looking around he searched for a light placing his hands around the walls he finally found the switch to the lights. As the light fell over him he first saw a massive pool of blood in the professors bed and then he saw the figure sitting on the desk table, it was a black armored Sontaran.

"Finally we meet Doctor. Please take a seat" it growled aiming a blaster at the Time Lord, who took a seat in the chair right in front of the desk

"Indeed." the Doctor asked with a smile

"I am Skyre from the Sontaran Special Space Service. I ask you why are you here Doctor?"

"I think I'm here for the same reason you are Skyre, the artifact." the Doctor replied calmly

"What interest does it hold for you?" the soldier growled

"I'm thinking of adding it to my collection." the Time Lord replied mockingly, causing the Sontaran to smack his left hand on the desk

"Don't mock me! I wan't to know what your mission is here!" the roared furiously

"I have no mission. I already told you why you were here. But now that were are asking questions whose blood is that?" the Doctor asked pointing at the bed

"The professor's. He served me well but his humanity was a weakness, that I corrected." the Sontaran replied proudly

"And the professor I saw today?"

"The corpse, that I control with specialized implants, he's nothing more then a puppet now." Skyre replied

"So you need someone to guide you through the labyrinth, is that what's going on now." the Doctor asked

"Yes. You Doctor will lead the search and lead the professor to the artifact." the Sontaran replied triumphantly

"Alright. We have the same goal, I think it's a good idea. It was a pleasure talking with you." the Doctor replied and simply walked away

The Doctor walked out of the trailer, outside was Martha, she had a worried expression on her face and was still affected by the dreams.

"Doctor! I was looking for you, professor Freeman told me you were here." she said anxiously

"What's wrong?" he asked knowing that something was troubling her

"I don't trust Jack, I think there is more to this then just recovering them the cube." she started

"You're right. I didn't want to involve you in this but..." he began before Martha stopped him

"Why?" she asked seemingly more nervous

"I crossed paths with the wrong being a while ago and he came here to collect on that debt." the Doctor tried to explain, without wanting to say much about it

"So what do we do now?"

"We do what we came here to do, but there is more going on." he said as he began to walk

As they walked the Doctor explained Martha the presence of the Sontaran and what happened to Freeman. As they arrived near the entrance of labyrinth, Freeman and a group of four men were already waiting to begin the descent.

"Get ready Doctor we begin in five minutes." the professor announced


	5. Chapter 5

The group moved on through the dusty corridors of the labyrinth, the Doctor took the lead with professor right behind him and the other four behind them, they pointed their flashlights into the various corridors, some rats scattered from from the lights, they were visibly skinny from the lack of food in the structure. Other then that no other sounds were heard. The Doctor stopped near a wall to observe the images in the wall, seeing what path to take, Freeman was getting visibly impatient, of course that was his masters reaction.

The Doctor continued walking in the same hallway, till something happened, the Doctor looked around as darkness seemed to involve the entire group, he was now alone in a empty space. The Time Lord looked around, he placed in the place the wall should have been but it wasn't there, just empty space. He continued to walk, till noise started to swarm around him, it was the pounding of wood on the floor, the Time Lord looked around shinning his flashlight around him and Sonic Screwdriver ready for anything, a figure began to emerge from the shadows, it began to come closer and closer for a moment the Doctor didn't see who it was and then he recognized her as the old woman that he had met in the town.

"Hello there." the Doctor said in a childish fashion

"Doctor." she replied

"And you are?" he asked

"My name is not important..." she began before the Doctor interrupted

"So why did you try reading my mind?"

"To know who you are, what you wanted. Yet you broke the connection, but I was able to get enough..." once more the Time Lord spoke over her

"Enough for what?"

"To know that you are not a enemy. Doctor we have been guarding this temple and it's secrets for centuries..." as she spoke the background turned from black to the desert from all those centuries ago as the temple was being built

"...our Pharaoh instructed us to build this labyrinth to guard his secrets..." the speech continued as he now saw the Black Pharaoh, it had the figures of a Pharaoh but only in appearance as the flesh did not seem to be flesh it was grey and his face was a mask that hid any form of expression.

The Pharaoh sat on a great golden throne, flanked by two guards and on his knees there was a woman wearing clothing like that of a priestess . They looked over the construction of the temple in a pit, showing that it was always the point to bury it under the sands and not far way other built the town.

"...there you can see me." she said pointing out at the young priestess

"That is you?" the Time Lord asked, not fully convinced

"Yes, he gifted us with slowed aging. I was given a greater resilience as he wanted me to lead this town till the time came for the cube to be taken and now that time as come." she announced, showing visible signs of sadness

"You're speaking of me or the professor?" the Doctor asked

"The professor never was nothing more then a puppet. He must be stopped, you Doctor will recover the cube while me and my people help the others at the surface. I fear the the only escape will be your transport..." again the Doctor interrupted

"Using the TARDIS is a bit much, they can lead the same way they arrived."

"We are not the only thing that was given extra time in this world, the entire town and temple will stop existing after the cube is taken."

With this last warning the Doctor woke up in the same room Martha had dreamed about and in the center was the pilar which held the cube. He was not alone Freeman and the other four men were there also, yet only the professor was up looking closely he saw that the other four were dead, shot, and in the professors hand was the revolver.

"Doctor, now go get me the artifact." the puppet ordered aiming the revolver at the Time Lord

Slowly the Doctor got up, he noticed that his Screwdriver was still in his hand, he knew what to do and that after all this was not Mark Freeman, not anymore, with a quick motion he aimed the device at the man, who replied with a small espasmam before collapsing, his implants had been deactivated cutting off the strings between master and puppet.

Back at the surface, two workers walked pass the professors trailer when the door busted open landing on one of the man and the other was killed by a energy weapon. Skyre was fuming, even for a Sontaran he was prone to go on rage fulled rampages, taking his rifle he started marching through the sand and blasting several things in his way, people, tents, vehicles. Finally he arrive at the main tent he blasted a opening in it's side, first person he saw was James, he knocked the boy down and marched towards Martha, who was using herself to protect Ashley.

"Woman you will accompany me!" he roared

"No!" Martha spat back, defiantly

"Come with me or the man dies!" he continued aiming at the fallen James

Luckily Jack entered the tent, showing a concerned face, he then froze in place getting the alien's attention who looked at this new arrival with a joyful grin.

"The anomaly." he said with that eager bloodthirsty grin

"Anomaly!?" Jack asked seemingly surprise and insulted

The Sontaran did not even reply and fired a round at the anomalies chest, who like others fell flat on the ground dead. Now Skyre felt underwhelmed, he no longer had time for this, he charged at Martha grabbing her right arm and started dragging her out towards the entrance of the ancient temple. He forced the woman on her knees and aimed his weapon at her head ready to execute her, he looked around for a second and saw that he was surrounded by the locals, from far he saw a old woman approaching, she stopped about 32 feet from him and took a defiant stance.

"What is this?" Skyre asked kicking Martha down into the sand

"You are not welcomed here. I am asking you to leave." she roared in a authoritarian tone, to which the Sontaran began to laugh

"None of you have the power or technology to attack me! Your threat holds no meaning." Skyre growled back between laughs

"Martha, you and everyone from the excavation crew flee. Martha will take you to a safe place." she said looking over to Martha who only now was getting back up and understood what this "safe place" was

"How dare you!?" the Sontaran roared furiously shooting a few more people, but not the elder woman

"How dare you attack our lord and not expect any retaliation?" she replied

Skyre did not understood this, but everything became clear when from the crowd the man he had killed, the anomaly, emerged, that was when all of those present knelled down, only the woman remained on her feet yet her head was bowed in a sign of respect. The Sontaran didn't even think twice and began to fire wildly at Nyarlathotep, but now the entity didn't even flinch. While this was happening the Doctor emerged from the temple, in his hands he had the cube, he looked around at the scene and didn't even stick around he ran straight for the town, as he could guess that at a time like this Martha would only be in one place.

"Are you done?" Jack asked, as the blasts finally stopped

"What are you!?" Skyre asked throwing his rifle aside, Jack chuckled mockingly

"I am one of those which you simple species fears." he replied in the same tone

"We fear nothing!" Skyre shouted insulted

"Everyone look up as you will lay your eyes upon the grandeur of your lord." to this all the locals looked up at Nyarlathotep

The anomaly began to convulse and shift in place, the clothing no longer seemed separate from the body and the skin began to change color to a grey and slimy tone, limbs now held no definite shape, what was once a man was now a indescribable mass, it slowly moved towards the alien warrior, Skyre could not even understand what he felt, never had he receive training for this. Before he could act he was on his knees, his will was giving up long before he himself was, the thing continued to move slivering around him, soon Skyre was in it's embrace, Nyarlathotep held him up to what must have been it's face and then it spoke with a twisted and gurgled voice.

"What will you do now soldier?" it asked and a bang rang in reply

Skyre had used his smaller blaster to kill himself, all of those who looked at this exchange didn't seem fase their loyalty was so great, going beyond such things as sanity. As soon as he had change chape, it change again to the form of that Pharaoh from so long ago, all looked back down again as the Pharaoh approached his ancient priestess, standing before her he looked down giving her the order to get on her knees.

"Look up my servant." he said in a calm tone, now showing a more booming voice

She did as she was told and looked up, a small tear of joy now rolled down her face.

"Do not cry child, you have served your purpose well." he said in what seemed to be a genuine carrying tone

"I have grown old...I've let those people come here and disturb your temple..." she began between sobs

"Stand! All of you stand!" he roared thunderously then he went quiet again and looked back at the old woman

"Age will no longer matter, soon this town and temple will be nothing but dust, nothing in human memory and you and the rest will join my legions like many before you, serving me for eternity"

With these final words a sudden sandstorm rose up, it lasted for a whole night, as the new day began the town was down and so was the temple, not evidence remained that anyone had ever been there.

While all of this happened the Doctor and Martha had been taking all of the excavation crew back to their homes, till now only Ashley and James remained.

"This place is amazing!" James said still stunned by the TARDIS

"You end up getting use to it." Martha replied

"Alright James your up next." the Doctor said as it landed

James went up to the door and opened it, looking outside he was right in front of his house, he said his good byes to everyone and stepped out. Now only Ashley remained, she was like always quiet looking over at the console, Martha was again at the girls side while the Doctor worked around the console.

"So are you happy to be going home?" Martha asked

"Yeah..." she replied, uncertain of what she was saying

"What's wrong?"

"It's...that there is so much here I want to see more." Ashley replied, but Martha didn't reply some one else did

"That seems like something you should ask the Doctor." everyone looked at the entrance to the TARDIS and there was Jack

"Doctor I believe you have something for me." he said with a delightful grin

The Time Lord picked up the cube from under the console and walked up to deliver it to Jack who reached out for it with his right hand, the Doctor gave it away and it was done.

"Very good Doctor, it seems our business here is done. Can't wait to see to do business with you again." with this ominous message he was gone

The Doctor was left there hanging, with a not so pleasant meting in the future.

"He is right Doctor, she does have to ask you." Martha said from Ashley's side

"Doctor...can I go with you?" she asked, in a shy manner

The Doctor started moving things around in the console, and he looked at the girl thinking of what they did, what they just went though, he didn't say anything till the TARDIS finally stopped, the Time Lord went back to the door and opened it.

"Your home. Now you can go back home or go with me and Martha for one trip." he said leaning at the door

"I want to go." she said in a more determined tone

"Good! Now ladies were should we go in all of Time and Space?" the Doctor announced happily as the TARDIS once again began to work


End file.
